Container-carrying device



Sept. 6, 1955 A. .1. GoTTsTElN CONTAINER-CARRYING DEVICE Filed Jan. 22, 1952 IN VEN TOR. A0000# A 6077675//1/ DIF Fil.

.A TTORNEI" United States Patent The presentinvention .relates to .article-handling devvices, and more particularly. to `a :handle attachment for lifting .cases and asimilar receptacles.

v.In handling va :numberof smallerarticles of packaged merchandise, `it .is `often :expedient :to .place such .articles in a largercase forniovementas .a single larger .unit

For example, milk, .carbonated beverages, .beerand `the like .are packaged incontainersor [bottles .and thenplaced `in a case .or carton fordeliver-y .to thehomefor .to commercial establishments.

Various -types .of detachable .handles 'have heretofore .been employed for lifting and carrying .aboutsuch cases. However, .none of .these .handlesfmeetthe .particular requirements kof an individual, fsuch .as af-milk man, .who repeatedly lifts and moves cases .from.,p1ac.e replace.

For/such repeated useit ,is essential .that the handle be readily .attachable to and zdetaehable from a case :0r ,receptacle. Preferably, .the ,individual ,should bezahle to .effect .the ,attachment vto the caseand ,detachment therefrom by .one hand,thereby leavinglhe tother :hand free for.manipulatingothercases ,orfor carryingloose.articles Further, .upon being .attached to the vlease, the .handle .should be maintained in position on.the...case .against .accidental or inadvertent disengagement. AIn addition to .the foregoing requirements, it is ,particularly .advantageous to have `a single Yhandle attachment which .can .be ,readily adjusted. to ,fit .cases `of varying sizes` and shapes. v j l Accordingly, it .is .an :objectof the A.present invention .to provide .a handle attachment v.which ris.Iparticularly :suitable ffor lvocations .requiring .the repeated `lifting .and carrying about .of .unwieldypbjects 1t .isanother object .of thepresent inventionstoprovide a handle attachment .which .can be .readily @attached .to vand detached from acase with `c qual facilitysand'rapidity.

It is .afurther objectief the.presentinvention.tofprovide a simple vhandle. structure .which .can .be manipulated fwith one hand for application to and removal 4`from cases of varying sizes and shapes.

A stillfurtherobjeet'of-ihis inventionaisfto vprovide a detachable handle structure ,.which, when once applied to a case, is maintained against accidental or inadvertent displacement until such `time as the -:handle vis inten- `ticnally `removed --from -the lcase. l

A still furtherobject of -t-he present invention g-is =to provide a detachable -handle 'constructed to permit -the 2,7 l 7,1 7 l Patented Sept. 6, 1 955 vofthe handle members and are adjusted .in accordance .with the. length of the case to which Ythe handle isfapplied. Asuitable spring is connected to the handle members .for .biasing the hooks toward eachother and .-into an ,inoperative position wherein the hooks lare spaced .apart a distance somewhat less-than the length .of Ythe smallest ycase .whichis to be lifted bythe handle. Accordingly,

to .apply the handle Ato .a case, Athe hooks must-.be moved handling of cumbersome and 'bulkyiarticlea lsuch as cases yfor milk bottles or--containers,rwith ease and without yphysically exerting the vmilkman.

The foregoing objects, and others which may appear from the `following brief description, -are attained in' accordance with the principles of the present invention by the provision of a handle attachment for lifting cases including a pair of tubular handle members telescopically mounted for adjustment relative to each other. Each of the handle members carries a hook which is adapted to be engaged with the case. The hooks are movable toward and away from each other in response to movement apart, thereby placing the spring under ,tension and ,subsequently maint-ainnig the handle in place onthe case until .the hooks arezremoved from the case. Due tothe materially simplified construction, the Ahandle attach- `ment can be applied and removedL by using only-one hand and is automatically adjustable to cases of varying sizes.

`The above objectsand brief description will become readily apparent uponreference to.the-followingdetailed .description when taken in conjunction with Tthe drawing, wherein:

:Fig 1 is .a side elevational View, .with Vparts broken .away and shown `in section, .of .a handle y.attachment accordingto thepresent invention;

.F.ig.2 is a top plan viewof .the handle .attachment of Fig. .1,:with parts .broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 3 is an .endelevational view of the lhandle attachment viewed from the left .of .Figs ll and .2; .and

Fig. 4 is .a `fragmentary vside `elevational View of a modified form ofrhandle attachment-constructed according to the .present invention. v

.Referringnow torFigs. l to 3 of the drawing, thereis shown a preferred .embodiment ofthe handle attachment .10 'according `to :the present invention, which may .be .fabricated .of any suitable, light .and .durable material. Ther-attachment y1.0 .is shown -in adjusted position von..a .case .111 of .thetypehaving opposite'walls 12, .-13 provided withinger receiving-slots 14,1115. Y lheattachment .10, which may be applied tosorre- .moved from the .case 11 byone hand,.includesrapairfof .extensible.tubular'handle .members 16, 17 mounted for movement relative to yeach other. As illustrated, the handle members 16, 17 are ".telescopically anountedifor longitudinal. adjustment v.with the handleamember 16 vcon- Aformably received within the handle member l17. Prefer- .ably athe .outer handle .member 17 is provided with a grip .-18 nota yrubber-like or plastic material Awhich kcan be'rmly grasped to facilitate vmanipulation of vthe .handle members 16,17. The ,grip S18 may be formed with longitudinally spaced .linger depressions .19.10 prevent slippage .of the Ahand along the grip 18 when the ,hand-le member 17 -isfbeing adjusted. j

Securedito or `fortnedintegrally `with the outerends 20, 21 of the :handle .members `16, 17 are the case-.engaging elements 22, i23 which .are movable .toward and away `fromach :other in response tothe adjustment .of the fhandle members t1-6, 17,rclatirve.toaeachvothen v5l`l1e lcase engaging @elements 22, 23 .are :of ,like structure and includedownW- ardly inclined supporting shanks 24, .25 carrying depending L-shaped hooks .26, 27 These hooks are adjustable in `accordance with the'length ,of-the .case ytowhich :the handle adjustment v-10 `is to Vbe applied. The hooks 26, .27 .are preferably iprovided Awith `friction `increasing shoes.28, 29 to enhance .the .gripping `qualities of the hooks. vvAsclearly shown in Fig. ,1, the shoes28, 529 may .take the fform of lrubber coatings which provide area bearing ycontacts .against .adjacentwportions of the walls-12, ,13 of the .case 1 1 and againstupper .bounding portions tof :the respective linger `receiving slots 14,15

Alongitudinal adjustment.

bers 16, 17 for biasing them toward each other. The spring 30 has one end connected to the handle member 16 by means of a pin 31, and has the other end connected to the handle member 17 by means of a pin 32. These pins 31, 32 extend transversely of the respective handle members 16, 17 and are secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as forced fitting into complementary apertures, welding, or riveting. The spring 30 normally biases the handle members 16, 17 into an inoperative position wherein the hooks 26, 27 are spaced apart a n distance somewhat less than the length of the case which is to be lifted by the handle attachment 10. Accordingly, when 'the L-shaped hooks 26, 27 are engaged within the respective slots 14, 15, the spring 30 is placed under tension and urges the hooks 26, 27 into bearing engagement with the adjacent surfaces of the walls 12, 13. In this manner, the attachment 10 is firmly held in an adjusted position straddling the case which is to be moved.

Suitable interengaging means are provided on the handle members 16, 17 to maintain the handle members against rotation with respect to each other during their As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the handle member 17 carries a transverse pin 33 which guidingly engages opposed longitudinally extending slots 34, 35 provided in the handle member 16. Thepin 33 further cooperates with the slots 34, 35 to limit the movement of the handle members 16, 17 toward each other under the inuence of spring 30 and away from each other against the force exerted by the spring.

In use, the attachment can be applied to a case by a simple manual manipulation requiring a minimum amount of time and eiort. Preferably the grip 18 is grasped in one hand and the device brought into an inclined position, illustrated in phantom in Fig. l and designated by the letter A, whereupon the hook 26 of the case engaging element 22 can be inserted in the linger receiving slot 14. The handle member 17 is then extended until the hook 27 of the case-engaging element 23 can be inserted in the linger-receiving slot 15. Upon releasing the handle member 17, the spring 30 causes the hooks 26, 27 to bear against the opposite walls 12, 13 of the case 11 thereby preventing displacement of the handle attachment 10 until intentionally removed.

To eifect the removal of the handle attachment 10, it is merely necessary to again grasp the grip 18 of handle member 17 and disengage hook 27 from the adjacent slot. Upon moving the attachment into the inclined position A, the hook 26 can be readily disengaged from slot 14, and the attachment is freed for application to a further case of the same or diierent size.

When constructing the attachment, spring 30 is selected to provide the desired holding effect and yet permit ready manipulation of the device without requiring the case to be held in place. Further, the spacing of the hooks 26, 27 with respect to the handle members 16, 17 is adjusted in accordance with the overall height of the articles being carried within the case 11. If, for example, the articles do not project upwardly of the open top of the case 11, the handle members 16, 17 can be positioned with just suflicient clearance to permit the grip gf 18 to be readily grasped.

In Fig. 4, there is shown a modilication for the respective case-engaging or gripping elements 22, 23 of the handle attachment 10. The modified case-engaging elements 36 each include a supporting shank 37 which carries an L-shaped hook 38 having a horizontal leg 39 and a vertical leg 40. The hook 38 is oifset outwardly of the lower end of the shank 37 by means of an interconnecting shoulder 41 which dependingly supports the hook 38. This shoulder is substantially parallel to the horizontal leg 39 of the hook 38 and embracingly engages the upper edge 42 of the case 11 when the horizontal leg 39 is brought into engagement with the upper bounding wall 43 of slot 14. Accordingly, upon application of the handle attachment 10 in the manner previously described, the case 11 is iirmly gripped by hooks 38 and shoulders 41 of the elements 36.

Numerous other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of kthe present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A lift attachment securable to a case having upstanding walls formed at locations spaced from the upper wall edges with opposed finger-receiving slots comprising a pair of tubular members telescopically mounted one within the other for movement relative to each other, the outermost one of said tubular members serving as a handle for said attachment, gripping means dependingly supported from said extensible members and operatively engaging said case for holding said tubular members in straddling relation to said case, said gripping means each including Va planar frictional abutment adapted to provide an area bearing and friction contact against the outer face of the adjacent upstanding wall and an inwardly-extending hook receivable within the adjacent iinger-receiving slot, the length of said planar frictional abutments being selected in relation to the location of said finger-receivingslots to maintain said tubular members spaced above the upper edges of said upstanding walls, and resilient means operatively connected to said extensible members and biasing said gripping means into operative engagement with said case.

2. A lift attachment' securable to a case having upstanding walls formed at locations spaced from the upper wall edges with opposed finger-receiving slots comprising a pair of tubular members telescopically mounted one without the other for movementrelative to ecah other, the outermost one of said tubular members serving as a handle for said attachment, gripping means dependingly supported from said extensible members and operatively engaging said case for holding said tubular members in straddling relation to said case, said gripping means each including a planar frictional abutment adapted to provide an area bearing and friction contact against the outer face of the adjacent upstanding wall and an inwardlyextending hook receivable within the adjacent lingerreceiving slot, a shoulder spaced from said hook and engageable over the adjacent upper Wall edge of said case, the length of said planar frictional abutments being selected in relation to the location of said finger-receiving slots to maintain said tubular members spaced above the upper edge of said upstanding walls, and resilient means operatively connected to said extensible members and biasing said gripping means into operative engagement with said case.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

